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Thread: Night Ski Headlamps?
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11-16-2018, 09:59 AM #1
Night Ski Headlamps?
Anybody have recommendations on higher power headlamps that could potentially provide enough light for some night turns? Hopefully with a wide beam to illuminate more than what is only five feet in front of me?
Getting old and having kids has forced me to utilize every hour of the day - often before the sun has rise or set - so I'll likely be heading up the mountain or out some local trails in the dark just to try and scratch the itch this winter.go upside down.
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11-16-2018, 10:05 AM #2Registered User
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Petzl Nao+? Reactive lighting, 750 lumens.
Haven't used it for adventurous night skiing yet, but that's what we went with. Works fine for cruising groomers in the dark after skinning up."Alpine rock and steep, deep powder are what I seek, and I will always find solace there." - Bean Bowers
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11-16-2018, 10:09 AM #3
I ski tour primarily at night during the months of jan/feb up in the northwest corner of b.c, canada.
There may be cheaper, brighter, longer batt life and more modern designs out there, but my princeton apex headlamp has been a trusty, durable, waterproof, bright enough companion for over a decade now. Replaced one 5 years ago due to a broken pivot but with the lifetime warranty, seamless hassle free transaction.
Technically, I think it throws a 120 meter beam which is more than sufficient, and both the color spectrum and spread of the beam are imo 'just right' for downhill skiing.
I tried a few other headlamps over the years but none matched the balance of qualities that the princeton unit is graced with.
For simplicity, I use duracell double aa rechargeables.
https://princetontec.com/product/apex/
Master of mediocrity.
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11-16-2018, 10:19 AM #4Dad core
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Look for a mtb light that you can add a headband or mount to a ski helmet with a stick on gopro mount. You will get way more light than most backpacking type headlamps. Lots of info on mtbr lights forum.
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11-16-2018, 10:22 AM #5Rod9301
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Zebralight. 1000 lumens. $80 , 3 ounces, aluminum, 18650 battery
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11-16-2018, 10:24 AM #6
Olight H2R. Zebra light on steroids. 2300 Lumens.
https://www.olightstore.com/led-flas...mps/olight-h2r
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11-16-2018, 10:25 AM #7Registered User
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^^ woah.
Go ahead and ignore my previous suggestion"Alpine rock and steep, deep powder are what I seek, and I will always find solace there." - Bean Bowers
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11-16-2018, 10:51 AM #8
I have used my nightrider mountain bike lights with the helmet mount for skiing down. Just a camping headlamp for skinning or booting up. Ideally I would like 2 lights at different incidence angles to help with depth perception, but haven't figured how to do that yet for skiing. On the mtb, I typically do 1 on bars pointing far, 1 on the bars pointing near and 1 on the helmet to point were I look. Maybe add a chest mount for skiing would be worth a try.
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11-16-2018, 11:51 AM #9
Big Petzl (Nao) or BD (Icon) would work fine. I believe both have remote battery options off your head to keep the pack warm.
MTB light would work even better. I have one of these and like it. https://www.amazon.com/Magicshine-Wa...rds=magicshine Battery cord can reach my helmet from the top pocket of my pack with plenty of slack to turn my head. Could easily fit in a jacket chest pocket.
If that Magicshine had a GoPro mount option it would be perfect for night skiing.
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11-16-2018, 12:01 PM #10
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11-16-2018, 12:02 PM #11Registered User
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2300 lumens turbo mode for ~50 seconds and then 650.
I have been skiing with several headlamps. I want my headlamp to give +1000 lumens for hours and stay in place so go-pro mount is good. I use different headlamp when skinning. This winter I'll be using this one https://www.lumonite.com/en/lumonite_air_1500/. Haven't got a change to ski with that one but looks promising. Wide beam and no hot spot in the middle.
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11-16-2018, 12:06 PM #12Banned
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Interesting, I always found skiing with a headlamp to be a frustrating experience, and preferred to let my eyes adjust at the top and ski down without artificial light.
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11-16-2018, 12:30 PM #13
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11-16-2018, 12:38 PM #14Registered User
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11-16-2018, 12:52 PM #15
That makes sense.
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11-16-2018, 03:17 PM #16
That's been my take at night skiing areas with lights. Eat lots of carrots and get acclimated to the lights. Outside of the resort I'm sure it's just way too dark though. I've never had to ski down with just my headlamp but just a few weeks ago I hiked down from the top of the Magic Mile after dark and it would have been basically impossible and very dangerous without lights. It got way darker than I expected. I was fine hiking with just my cheap camping headlamp but would have been way cooler with something better.
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11-16-2018, 03:39 PM #17
Full moon and clear night would work. But I'd still want a light.
A decade ago, buddy and I decided it would be a great idea to avoid the crowds on Snake Dike on an August weekend by climbing it in the evening. We knew there would be a full moon and the rock should be pale enough that it'd be great. Started up the route at like 7pm and topped out at 10pm. Ended up climbing a lot of it by headlamp because we didn't account for late moonrise and it being low in the sky. DOH.
Me to buddy when I reached the belay: "So, I only cleaned like two draws on that pitch. Umm..." Buddy: "Yeah. I knew there were more bolts, but I figured it would take way longer for me to bother finding them, so I just kept climbing." Big pendulum potential for follower on some of those pitches, in addition to massive cheesegrater lead fall potential. Good times.
Take home for me: Bring a good headlamp. (Though obviously skinning a ski area or your local meadowskipping spot involves significant less potential risk than climbing at night.)
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11-16-2018, 05:00 PM #18Registered User
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11-16-2018, 06:08 PM #19nice night for an evening
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This time of year with our growing snowpack, I would want as many lumens as possible. I just majorly upgraded my headlamp and around-the-house edc light with a zebralight 18650 setup. My old lights were a Ptec 4xAA, Ptec 3xAAA, and a Snow Peak 2-3AAA? light setups. They all suck compared to the 18650 zebra on one cell.
Zebra HQ is close to where I grew up (lights made in China) and has delivered on all of my emails. They also deliver in a tiny box, less waste than a 1/2 gallon of almond milk. One could get a zeal or dazzle of zebras for less waste than a gallon of almond milk.
My so called ski bum life has been interupted with some decent work and learning experiences, so utilizing modern tech for extending the day is great. Changing to an 18650 system has been pretty eye-opening to the possibilities of batteries. My 1300 lms setup with 2 batteries weighs just over 6 ounces (charger left out), and it is sick!
I am sold on xxxxx batteries for weight-savings and lumens. A new gen. zebra can pump out 1600 on one 18650 for a reasonable amount of time for descents and will last for long time in low modes for the ups or hanging out.
21700 is getting chatter about being the "best" size for "energy denseness". Zebra has a forthcoming 21700 flashlight producing 3000 lumens. That is a fucking self-defense weapon.....1000+ at close-range will earn you a free-kick to the nethers anyday.
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11-16-2018, 07:42 PM #20Rod9301
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I don't see specs but make sure it's regulated so the light is constant regardless of battery voltage
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11-16-2018, 08:00 PM #21Registered User
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Yes I can and I do. No need for that much light when going up. I still need a lot of battery capacity when only having an hour or two of daylight(ish).
Full moon is also good for skiing, sometimes better than daylight during polar night. Too bad I want to ski more than once in a month.
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11-16-2018, 08:23 PM #22
I bought one of these these about 8 years ago and it is still ticking. I use it for night mountain bike rides and commuting to work on my road bike. In the spring and fall I leave my house while it is still dark outside and this thing is bright enough that I wear my sunglasses and have no problems seeing (seriously).
In the winter I swap to the headlamp strap and ski with this for the way down, using a small, dim light for climbing. In the summer I think I have used it for 2+ hours on bright and in the winter I usually only charge it once or twice and it goes strong with weekly morning skins for 3-4 months.
Cheap at $20 and has been bomber. YMMV.
Seth
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11-16-2018, 09:05 PM #23Registered User
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Any hiking/camping/general headlamp on the way up (or nothing if there's any moon) and a 900 lumen bike light mounted to a helmet mount has been the best setup I've used. Storm/clear lenses in the goggles and I can see better than I can on flat light/storm days. Not a ton of burn time on high, but I'm skinning at night, and I don't need to do that many laps.
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11-17-2018, 06:51 AM #24
One thing to also consider is sometimes it is better to have a higher lumens light that offers 2 or more brightness settings. You can use the lower setting for much longer battery life and kick it up to the highest setting only when needed but sacrifice the battery run time (like going back down the run)... 2 headlamps trading off on USB charger and one of the battery boosters that they sell such as Anker also if needed if weight is not an issue such as multiple days of touring with all the gear for staying out overnight.
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11-22-2018, 08:57 AM #25one of those sickos
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I run and ski at night a lot, and continue to love my Zebralights. The beam is diffused just right to afford the right amount of peripheral light while having a soft brighter spot on the middle. Beam pattern and color is more important than absolute lumen count (which is most just made up anyway).
For running I usually use the brighter of the 2 medium settings. For skinning the lower is plenty if there is no moon. The lower bright setting is enough for tree skiing and I almost never use the full 1000lm setting bc it's just blinding.
To get the 1000lm mode to work for longer than a few seconds, you must use higher quality 18650s rather than the cheaper ones.
Also, ZL customer service has been good. I broke a lens on one of ours in a packing mishap and they repaired if free of charge.
I'm usually one to grab the cheaper Chinese stuff for electronics, but ZL has earned my loyalty with a technically superior product.
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